Musical toy



(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 1.

D.A. A. BUCK.

MUSICAL TOY. No. 399,967. Patented Mar. 19, 1889.

N. PETERS. PhnbLilhagnphan Wishingldrl. D. C.

(No Model.) 4" Sheets-Sheet 2.,

D. A. A. BUCK.

MUSICAL TOY.

No. 399,967 Patented Mar. 19, 1889.,

QQWML fi I h 1 (No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 3' D. A. A. BUCK.

- MUSICAL TOY. No. 399,967. Patented Mar. 19, 1889 N. PUERS, FiwloLilhngmphnr. Wushingwn, D. C

(No Model.)

4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

D. A. A. BUCK.

MUSICAL TOY.

No. 399,967. Patented Mar. 19, 1889.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DANIEL A. A. BUCK, OF CHESHIRE, CONNECTICUT.

MUSICAL TOY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 399,967, dated March 19, 1889.

Application filed April 30, 1888.

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, DANIEL AZRO ASHLEY BUCK, of Cheshire, in the county of New Haven, and in the State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Musical Toys; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved toy from the front. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section of the same upon line m 00 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a vertical section upon line 06 0c of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the musical portion of the mechanism separated from the case. Fig. 5 is a front elevation of the same. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of one of the stop-bars and the actuatingwheel separated from the connecting mechanism. Fig. '7 is an end elevation of said musical mechanism, and Figs. 8 and 9 are respectively a perspective view and a crosssection of the rotatable striker.

Letters of like name and kind refer to like parts in each of the figures.

The object of my invention is to provide in a simple and inexpensive form a toy in which by the movement of one crank will be produced a representation of dancing, accompanied by the playing of a banjo; and to this end my said invention consists in the construction and combination of parts substantially as and for the purpose hereinafter specified.

In the carrying of my invention into practice I preferably construct a casing, A, that represents the exterior of a frame cabin provided with a sloping roof, B, and having at its front side an open porch, C, within which latter is contained the figure of a man sitting upon a stool and holding a banjo, and a boy and a girl who are standing in position for dancing.

Near the upper end of the rear wall of th casing A is secured a sounding-board, D, across which are stretched horizontally a number of Wires, E and E, that are suitably supported at their ends and have such diameters and relative tensions as to cause each when vibrated to produce a certain predeter- Serial No. 272,273. (No model.)

mined musical tone, which tone is different from that of either of the other wires.

J ournaled within suitable bearings, F and F, in front of and parallel with the wires E and E, is a shaft, G, which upon one end is provided with a crank, H, that projects through the end of the casing and is adapted to be placed in position from the outside of the same. Said crank is provided Within its inner end with a threaded axial opening which is adapted to engage with the threaded end g of said shaft, the arrangement being such as to cause said crank to become engaged with and to rotate said shaft when turned in one direction and to become disengaged therefrom when turned in an opposite direction. Near its inner end the shaft G has secured thereon a cylindrical hub, I, from which project radially outward a number preferably threeof square pins 2' and "i, that have their inner ends contained within suitable openings, z" and i, which are formed in the periphery of said hub. Said pins have such length as to cause their outer ends to approach, but not have contact with, the wires E E whenever said shaft is rotated.

Upon the rear side of each pin e is placed a flat metal spring, 2' which has its inner end securely fastened thereby within the opening 2, and from thence extends outward beyond the outer end of said pin, and has its outer portion curved outward and rearward. Between the rear face of said pin and spring, at the outer end of the former, is placed a piece of flexible material, t preferably felt, which acts as a buffer or damper and prevents direct contact between said parts at such point. If now the shaft G is revolved, each spring or striker 7? will have its curved end swept across the strings E and E, and thereby cause the latter to vibrate, the effect being similar to that produced by picking the string of a banjo. As each striker thus passes over said sounding-board D, near one end of each string, and has such projection beyond the latter as to enable the eifective length of the string to be changed by pressing the same down upon said fret in the usual manner.

Pivoted near their upper ends, to or upon the fram e-back, are two or more vertically-arranged bars, K and K, which extend downward across the strings E and E, and are each provided with two or more longitudinally-adjustable pins, k and 70, that project horizontally inward, in position to enable each to press one of said strings down upon a fret, cZ, whenever the lower end of its bar is swung inward. Each bar is held normally out of engagement with the strings by means of a spring, 70', that extends between its upper end and the case-back.

Journaled upon a horizontal axis, which has a right angle to the face of the soundingboard D, is a wheel, L, that has a toothed periphery, which is engaged bya worm, M, upon the shaft G, so that the rotation of the latter will cause said wheel to revolve with a relatively slow velocity. Upon the rear side of said wheel are provided a number of lugs, Z and Z, that project rearward from near its periphery and have their ends beveled or inclined. A second series of lugs, Z and Z, is provided immediately inside of the circle of said lugsZ and Z, which also have beveled ends, as shown in Fig. 6, and which, together with said lugs Z and Z, are preferably integral with the body of said wheel.

The wheel L is arranged so that itsaxis is upon a line horizontally with the lower ends of the bars K and K, and laterally has such arrangement as to bring one series of the lugs, Z and Z, opposite to one of said bars, and the other series, Z and Z, opposite to the second bar. wardly-proj ecting lug, which bears against the contiguous lugs of said wheel, and is held in such engagement by means of the spring 70'. If now the wheel L is rotated, the lugs Z and Z will engage with and press rearward the lower ends of bars K and K, so as to cause the pins 70 and 7c to press the strings E and E upon the frets d and d. As thus arranged, it will be seen that by giving to the lugs of each series the necessary relative lengths, and giving to the lugs of both series the proper relative arrangement, a considerable variety may be had in the chords produced by the strikers and wires and in the number of times each chord shall be sounded.

In order that the figures beneath the porch may be made to keep time to the music the figures of the boy and girl are each suspended from the end of a rod, n, which from thence passes rearward into the interior of the easing and is secured upon a shaft, N, that is journaled horizontally near the front of the same in a line with the shaft G. From said shaft N an armm, extends rearward beneath said shaft G, and has its end engaged by a number of pins, Z and Z, that project longi- Each of said bars is provided with a for'- tudinally outward from the hub I. The weight of said figures is sufficient to hold said arm n against said pins, while by the rotation of the shaft G said pins will successively engage with and depress said arm, so as to raise said figures, which will then be permitted to drop to place, and, striking upon the floor of the porch, will produce a sound resembling that caused by the feet of a jig-dancer. Corresponding to the movements of the dancing figures the right arm of the banjo-player will be moved, so as to cause his fingers to apparently sweep across the strings of his banjo. This movement is effected by pivoting the said arm and from the same extending rearward a rod, 0, that is engaged by an arm, n, which projects forward from the shaft N, the arrangement being such that the depression of the front end of said arm n will cause the arm of the banjo-player to be raised, while the elevation of the front end of said arm 'n will cause the arm of said figure to be moved downward. and '6 have such arrangement with relation to the pickers Z and 2" as to cause the movements of the figures to keep accurate time with the music.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is- 1. In a musical toy, the combination, with a series of musical strings, of a rotary striker for setting such strings in vibration, tonechanging mechanism for changing the vibratory length of the strings, jointed automatons, an operating-shaft adapted to be turned by hand, and connection between such shaft and the said striker, the automatons and the tone-changing mechanism, whereby,when the shaft is turned, the strings are set in vibration and automatically changed in vibratory length and the automatons set in motion, substantially as set forth.

2. In a musical toy, the combination, with a series of musical strings, of a rotary head, spring-arms carried by such head and adapted to strike the strings and set them in vibration, mechanism for varying the vibratory length and hence the tone of the strings, and operating-connections for operating the rotary head and the said tone-changing mechanism together, substantially as set forth.

3. In a musical toy, the combination, with a sounding-board provided with frets, a series of musical strings stretched across such board and over the frets thereof, stop-levers to press the strings upon the frets and so vary their vibratory length, cams mounted for rotation in engagement with the stop-levers, which they actuate, and means for rotating the cams, substantially as set forth. 1

4:. In a musical toy, the combination, with a series of musical strings, of a rotatable hub, radial curved spring-arms carried by such hub and each adapted to strike the strings and set The pins i them in vibration, mechanism for changing the vibratory length, and hence the tone produced by the strings, and operating-connections for vibratlng the hub and actuating the tone-changing mechanism together, substantially as set forth.

5. As a means for causing music-strings to vibrate, a rotatable hub which is provided with radial rigid pins, and radial spring arms or strikers that are partly supported by said pins and have curved outer ends which are adapted to engage with and move over said strings as the hub revolves, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

6. As a means for causing music-strings to vibrate, a rotatable hub which is provided with radial rigid pins, and radial spring arms or strikers that are partly -supported by said pins, and buffers or dampers which are placed between said strikers and the contiguous sides of said pins, substantially as and for the purpose shown and described.

7. A musical toy in which are combined music-strings that are stretched across a sounding-board, a rotatable hub which is provided with radial spring striker arms, camactuated levers that are adapted to press said strings upon frets and thus change their operative lengths, automatons that are adapted to represent the movements of a banjo-player and jig-dancers, and operating mechanism by which all of said parts are actuated, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

8. In a musical toy, the combination, with a series of musical strings, means for automatically striking the same and setting them vibrating, automatic stops or keys for engaging With the strings and changing their vibratory length, an operating-shaft, and connections between the striking mechanism and the stops or keys and the said shaft, whereby the strings are automatically struck and changed in vibratory length when the shaft is turned, substantially as set forth.

9. In a musical toy, the combination, with a series of musical strings, means for striking the same and setting them vibrating, stops or keys for engaging with the strings to change their vibratory length, cams for operating such stops or keys, and operating-connections between the striking mechanism and the cams, whereby the said mechanism and cams operate together, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 28th day of April, A. D. 1888.

DANIEL A. A. BUCK.

lVitnesses:

ARTHUR A. BUCK, H. H. BUNNELL. 

